


The Beekeeper's House

by ardvari



Series: keeping bees [2]
Category: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-17
Updated: 2017-04-17
Packaged: 2018-10-20 03:24:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10653882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ardvari/pseuds/ardvari
Summary: The gravel creaked and ached under the hybrid’s tires as it slowly drove up to the house, old but imposing, resting between blooming citrus trees. Slightly perplexed, Sara turned off the car and stared at the house for a moment, her eyes traveling along the vines climbing up both sides of the front door. She reached for the directions next to her on the passenger seat and looked at the address.





	The Beekeeper's House

_On leaving the old nest, the swarm normally flies only a few meters and settles. Scout bees look for a suitable place to start the new colony. Eventually, one location wins favor and the whole swarm takes to the air._  
\- Bees of the World

The gravel creaked and ached under the hybrid’s tires as it slowly drove up to the house, old but imposing, resting between blooming citrus trees. Slightly perplexed, Sara turned off the car and stared at the house for a moment, her eyes traveling along the vines climbing up both sides of the front door. She reached for the directions next to her on the passenger seat and looked at the address.

Finally convinced she was in the right place, she climbed out of the car and walked up the steps, turned around to look back down the winding driveway losing itself between bushes and gnarly trees. This place was magical. 

Hesitating briefly, she reached for the doorknob and turned it, a thrill of excitement rushing through her as the door opened with a deep, satisfying moan. Dust danced in the late afternoon light slanting through the French windows that lead out to the backyard and the citrus groves. Like an old plantation house, she could see the backyard from the front door through the tunnel of a long hallway. 

Her feet made perfect patterns in the dust on the hardwood floor as she crossed the hallway, put her hand against the glass and looked out into the overgrown backyard. The grass was too long, the flowerbeds overgrown and she couldn’t wait to smell the citrus blossoms out there.

With a deep sigh, she pushed open the French door and stepped out onto the large patio, reached down to touch the warmth of the granite beneath her feet and took a deep breath filled with hints of lemons and oranges, trying to imagine what the groves would look like with splotches of yellow and orange between the leaves. 

Sara sat down on the patio steps, rested her elbows on her knees and her chin in her palms and chuckled quietly. It was warmer down here than it had been in San Francisco with the chills coming off the ocean. 

She had always loved the city but she missed Grissom; a dull, nervous ache reminding her that he was miles and miles away. Still, Vegas had lost its appeal, and while she had tried to fit in, find something else to do after her first brief stay in San Francisco, it had only taken a month for her to leave again. 

And Grissom, despite the worry and the half hidden hurt, had let her go. _If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you…_

When he had called her a week ago to talk about the bees, a hint of anticipation in his voice and the conversation had turned towards beekeeping and citrus groves and Southern California and a house in the hills, she had laughed. 

“Bees. I can’t believe I’m even here. You’re crazy, Dr. Grissom. Bees and citrus groves.” she whispered out to the weeds in the backyard and shook her head. 

“You’ve called me a lot of things but never crazy.” came a slightly amused voice from behind her. 

She swung around, gaping at the figure leaning against the doorframe behind her, hands buried in the pockets of his jacket. He looked smug, blue eyes glinting as he took her in. 

She hadn’t seen him in close to two months and while they had talked on the phone, seeing him made her heart speed up happily. 

“I think I did call you crazy. A week ago, when you told me about the bee idea.” With pursed lips she got up and walked over to him, coming to stand in front of him. 

Grissom ran a hand down her arm and pulled her closer until they were molded together, half in the shade of the house, half in the warm glow of the afternoon sun. 

“I’ve had the idea for a long time. It just never felt like the right time to breach the subject.” he reminded her before he leaned in, captured her lips with his and effectively cut off whatever she might have wanted to say. 

“So… what do you think?” he finally asked and gestured towards the house.

“Well, it’s gorgeous… what I’ve seen of it. But Griss… keeping bees?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at him. 

Sara looked up at him, smiling an unsure smile, thinking about life in San Francisco while Grissom was in Las Vegas. If she was ready to settle down somewhere completely different, do something she’d never thought she’d do.

“It’s an idea. I don’t need the lab; I enjoy studying the bees and I really hate only seeing you once every couple of months.” he said and led her back into the house.

They walked from room to room, looked into the kitchen cabinets and climbed the stairs to the second floor. 

She fell in love with the house reluctantly, smiled at the hidden crawlspace- type closet at the top of the stairs and at the drizzle of muddy water running out of the tap and into the sink. 

“We’d have to… fix that.” Grissom said, putting his hand over hers on the tap. 

“Grissom… seriously?” she asked, walking into the next room. 

“There really isn’t anything keeping me in Vegas. And I know you needed to go back to San Francisco but this… could be for us. When you’re ready. No pressure.” he stepped next to her by the window overlooking rows and rows of trees in full bloom and she wondered how it was possible not to fall in love with the place. 

Slowly she twisted the wedding band around her finger, the reassuring weight of white gold so familiar after half a year that she shuddered at the thought of losing it. 

“You’d have to teach me. About the bees. Because I’m not going to sit around inside while you do your thing. I want to be involved. In everything. And we’d have to learn about oranges and lemons and how to manage the property because I really don’t have a clue. Jesus Grissom…” she smiled suddenly, eyes liquid and bright as she turned to him. Butterflies and bees had started to dance and hum in her belly and she felt fluttery, as if she was hovering above the hardwood floor, her feet no longer touching the ground.

“I can teach you. I have every book there is about keeping bees and I started accumulating the ones about making honey and beeswax. I also… bought some books about citrus trees.” he admitted. 

She took a deep breath, hugged herself and slowly walked out of the room, disturbing more dust and wondering what the floor would look like once it had been polished. The paint chipped off the walls as she ran a hand across it on her way downstairs, Grissom following her anxiously. She could feel the nervousness radiating off of him, the hopefulness that she’d say yes.

And she wanted to, she reluctantly admitted to herself. This was exactly what she needed, a little haven and something new to sink her teeth into. Something he could teach her because he loved teaching her, passing on his knowledge while she absorbed it like a sponge. They worked well like that.

She walked silently through the overgrown garden and through the rows of trees, watched the play of the orange light through the leaves above her, splotching the ground as if someone had spilled golden paint on the grass and the narrow dirt paths. 

With her eyes closed she took a deep breath, one that went all the way down to the bottom of her lungs and freed something deep inside of her. 

Grissom was right behind her, watched her as she stood beneath the trees, the soft wind tousling her hair. 

After a moment that stretched papery thin she opened her eyes, half turned towards him and smiled again. 

“Let’s do it.” A feeling of bubbly excitement welled up inside her, making her almost dizzy, her ears rushing with the sound of a million invisible bees, a high-pitched hum that vibrated in her bones.

“Are you sure?” 

She tumbled towards him and wrapped her arms around him, holding on to him as she laughed, wondering who was more crazy, him for coming up with the idea or her for going along with it. 

“Yeah I’m pretty sure.” 

He hugged her then, held her close and looked up at the trees, trying to imagine what it would be like to live in a citrus grove. 

“It’ll need some work.” Sara mumbled into his shirt.

“Ah, nothing we can’t handle…”


End file.
